WalletHub study examines 2017’s best real-estate markets

With home sales recently falling to their lowest level this year, the personal-finance website WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2017’s Best Real-Estate Markets.

To determine the most attractive real-estate markets in the U.S., WalletHub’s analysts compared 300 cities across 21 key metrics. The data set ranges from median home-price appreciation to home sales turnover rate to job growth.

Best Real-Estate Markets

Worst Real-Estate Markets

1

Frisco, TX

291

New Haven, CT

2

McKinney, TX

292

Montgomery, AL

3

Allen, TX

293

Waterbury, CT

4

Cary, NC

294

Detroit, MI

5

Richardson, TX

295

Hartford, CT

6

Seattle, WA

296

Bridgeport, CT

7

Bellevue, WA

297

Miami Beach, FL

8

Carrollton, TX

298

Elizabeth, NJ

9

Nashville, TN

299

Paterson, NJ

10

Denver, CO

300

Newark, NJ

Best vs. Worst

Berkeley, California, has the lowest share of homes with negative equity, 1.51 percent, which is 28.6 times lower than in Hartford, Connecticut, the city with the highest at 43.23 percent.

Berkeley, Sunnyvale, and San Mateo, California; Mesquite, Texas; and Seattle have the lowest average number of days until a house is sold, 36, which is 5.2 times lower than in Newark, New Jersey, the city with the highest at 186.

Allen, Texas, has the lowest vacancy rate, 1.91 percent, which is 19.1 times lower than in Miami Beach, Florida, the city with the highest at 36.47 percent.

Fayetteville, North Carolina, has the lowest home price as a share of income, 124 percent, which is 12.7 times lower than in Santa Barbara, California, the city with the highest at 1,575 percent.